Congratulations! Your dancer got accepted to multiple summer intensives. Maybe they even got some scholarships. This is fantastic news! But now comes the tricky part: actually deciding where to go. This is usually a really personal decision. It's tempting to just pick the most prestigious program or the one with the biggest scholarship. And look, we get it. When your kid gets into a big-name school, it feels like validation that all those hours in the studio are paying off.

You’ve probably been hearing a lot about a more specialized type of summer ballet intensive called a “Company Experience” or "Choreography Workshop." Seriously? Another summer program? Actually, we think this new development in summer ballet training is pretty cool. Several ballet programs have implemented these over the years and they appear to be growing in popularity. Over the next two weeks, we'll be having a series of conversations with many of the ballet companies that offer a company experience so you can better understand what each has to offer.

Until now, if you wanted to get a sense of the ballet training available in your local area, your best bet was to ask around. Maybe post in a Facebook group. Maybe text a friend-of-a-friend. Hope that the reviews from ten years ago on Yelp are actually real? But real, detailed insight into what a ballet program is actually like? That didn’t exist.

**This is a guest post from Elizabeth Sullivan, founder of The Dancer's Coach** Now that audition season is coming to a close, several dancers, especially those waiting on offers, report feeling a little uninspired and unmotivated. They aren't sure how to manage these feelings and still get themselves to daily classes and rehearsals. First, this is normal. Audition season can take a lot out of you, especially if you've been traveling and doing in-person auditions.

You’ve probably been hearing a lot about this new type of summer ballet intensive called a “Company Experience.” Seriously? Another summer program?? Actually, we think this new development in summer ballet training is pretty cool. But what exactly does this mean, and why should students consider it? What Is a Company Experience? A "company experience" is a stand-alone summer intensive where students train and perform in an environment modeled after a professional ballet company.

**Our fourth in our series from guest blogger Chelsea Weidmann on neurodivergent kids in ballet. be sure to check out her new book, Artistry Inside Ballet Technique** I am thrilled to be back writing for the Ballet Help Desk. When they asked me to consider writing a post on teaching students with Tourette's Syndrome, my first thought was, “ooh, I’ve never taught a student with Tourette’s before” but I’ve looked into the statistics and I probably have.